UPDATED: July 2, 2018
The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is required by law to establish and review the position of the two lines of beachfront jurisdiction (the baseline and the setback line) once every seven to ten years. The purpose of the jurisdictional lines is to implement laws and regulations that support the state’s beachfront management goals.
DHEC released proposed changes to beachfront jurisdictional lines in October 2017. The changes would dramatically and in many cases, negatively impact coastal properties.
The lack of adequate data, compressed timeline, and permanent position of the baseline set at a future date put South Carolina’s coastal property owners at a huge disadvantage.
Senator Chip Campsen and Representative Lee Hewitt filed legislation in their respective bodies to provide a transparent process in the establishment of new jurisdictional lines and to establish parameters for the review and appeals process for property owners who may be adversely affected by changes.
The House version of the bill, H.4683, moved forward in the legislative process. The House and Senate unanimously passed the legislation. The Senate amended the bill to include, for the greater part, technical revisions but made two substantive changes: including an eighteen month waiting period for collection of data after the impact of a storm system or event and setting forth that until the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) establishes a new baseline and setback line affecting a landowner as part of an establishment cycle, the baseline and setback line in effect for the landowner are the most seaward of the following, respectively:
- The baseline and setback lines established during the 2008 through 2012 establishment cycle; or
- The baseline and setback lines proposed by the department on October 6, 2017; and
- The baseline and setback line pursuant to a review or an appeal initiated before January 1, 2018 that revises the baseline proposed on October 6, 2017, to a location seaward of both the baseline established during the 2008 through 2012 establishment cycle and the baseline proposed on October 6, 2017, then both the revised proposed baseline and revised proposed setback line will be in effect for the landowner until the department establishes a new baseline and setback line.
We applaud Rep. Hewitt, Senator Campsen, Governor Henry McMaster and the members of the General Assembly for their efforts to protect property rights and provide property owners and businesses adequate time and data to analyze potential repercussions from movement of the jurisdictional lines.
The bill was signed into law on May 03, 2018.
To view the bill in its entirety, please visit the General Assembly website: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/
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